Hidden in a Blade (continuation)
by YellowAngela
Summary: This story was originally by Asha Carcella. It was discontinued and I asked for permission to finish it. Rex is injured by Hunter Cain. Can his friends figure out what's going on before it is too late? First chapter contains the original story(all 6 Chapters very long). Second chapter begins my story.
1. Chapter 1

**This fanfic was created by Asha Carcella. It wasn't finished and I asked if I could finish it. Asha has graciously agreed so here it is. The first page is the original fanfic. I have to warn you it's very long because I combined all 6 chapters into one. ****The next chapter starts my story.**

**I don't own any of the characters or the first page. **

Rex cracked opened his eyes. What little sunlight entered his room blinded him. He gave a slight groan and rolled over to his side, when he noticed that there was someone else in his room other than his simian companion. He shot out of his bed, ready to attack the intruder, only to realize that it was his harmless friend, Noah.

Rex sighed and gave a slight stretch. "Hey Noah, what brings you here so early to my large, fun and colourful Providence room," Rex said with a hint of sarcasm. He wasn't usually this moody in the morning, but after the night he had, he had a right to be. At about 11:12 last night Rex was called in to beat the living heck out of an EVO that strangely looked like multiple amphibians morphed together. It wasn't an easy fight as Rex was thrown around quite a bit, earning himself many bruises, but as usually he cured it in the end. It was not that Rex didn't want to see his friend, but usually when Noah visits him, early in the morning in his tiny room; it means that he needs a favour.

Noah, who remained silent, just gave Rex a look that said everything.

0o0

"NO WAY IN HECK NOAH!" Rex screamed at his friend. He earned a concerned look from Bobo who was now very interested in the confrontation.

"Please Rex! I thought you were my friend!" Noah said with his most pleading tone.

"Oh no, no way are you slapping down the 'friend' card. It won't work this time! I am so not going on another date with Annie! Not after last night with that mutant EVO frog thing, the hero also needs breaks sometimes!" Rex said, being careful this time to go a little easier on his friend.

"Rex, come on, you're my wingman, and Annie actually likes you!" Noah said trying his luck.

Rex sighed. She likes me, that's the whole problem…. She won't turn away a date with me….. Rex grinned his famous grin at Noah, "I know, I'm just that awesome" Rex said, returning to his old, calm self, but also ready to fight Noah on the whole 'Date with Annie' issue.

"So…. Is that a yes?" Noah asked with slight hope in his voice.

"Uh…..That would still be a no," Rex said while stretching out his bruised and sore back. It wasn't that he didn't want to help his friend with Claire, but there was that whole 'risk' thing that so happened to be his date, Annie. He would of usually said a quick 'yes' to Noah's request and get the date out of the way. But this time was different; Rex had woken up in a slightly bad mood due to his multiple injuries.

A weird look consumed Noah's face as he slowly went on his knees. "Uhh…. Noah what are you doing?" Rex said, utterly confused. "About to beg ...…" Noah mumbled.

"Oh, go ahead then," Rex said basking in his awesomeness, with a wide grin spread across his face. Noah shot a look at Rex, cleared his throat and said, "Please Re-"

"Wait, wait… Let me get my phone," Rex said while fumbling through his forgotten jacket of last night. "Go ahead," Rex urged his friend, all the while holding back laughter. "Rex, PLEASE do this for me, PLEASE!" Noah said, holding his hands in front of him in the praying position. By this time Rex had completely burst into a fit of laughter.

"Fine Noah," Rex said in between fits of laughter, "I'll go. I was going to go; you don't have to beg on your knees like a dog!" Rex said as he casually brushed past Noah to get to the bathroom.

"You do know that he was toying with you, right?" Bobo said, finally speaking up.

"Shut up monkey," Noah said. He was going to have to get back at Rex, maybe on the basketball court, but of course, after their double date.

Rex sighed. He assumed this was going to be one long night as all of his dates with Annie are long, and painful. Though, so far he had not acquired any new bruises from his date. Rex was suspicious. Usually by now (14 minutes into the date, yes he was counting) he would be sporting fresh bruises all over his body. But nothing had happened yet…..

"Rex!" Noah screamed in his ear, "Something wrong? We're here by the way."

"I'm fine Noah, can we just get this over with?" Rex mumbled, looking around suspiciously. He had a bad feeling, not a Breach or Annie bad feeling but one slightly worse. Noah gave Rex a slightly concerned look, but in the end turned back to Claire and said' "Come on, lets go order our burgers."

Rex followed Noah and Claire into the Burger Shack with Annie walking next to him. She was looking at him like he had something on his face. "Uhh Annie, do I have something on my face….?" Rex asked. "You seemed distracted, what's bothering you?" Annie asked quietly. "I don't really know, I got this really weird feeling, as if something really bad is about to happen…." Rex replied softly. Despite Rex's feeling and what he had said, the night was going good. Too good. Nothing had happened due to Annie's presence, it was way too weird. But finally Rex began to loosen up, and was actually enjoying himself.

Everything had happened so fast, Rex had just taken a fresh bite of his burger, when he glimpsed, from the corner of his eye a single bullet heading straight for Annie's head. He had only spotted it thanks to his specialized Providence training. He reacted quickly; Rex formed his Smack Hands and pulled Annie out of harms way. The bullet made a distinct sound as it embedded itself into the wall of the Burger Shack.

Rex hopped on the table, his friends still in shock, and shouted, "Who the HECK just did that?" Rex formed his BFS, anger smothering his face.

Black laughter came rolling out of the distance. "EVO scum, I figured that these people you call 'friends' should be terminated, they could be infected just like you," Hunter Cain said, with deep hatred in his gruff voice.

"Are you looking for another fight where I kick your butt?" Rex said with a grin, determined to chop his head off. As he said that, new recruits of Hunter Cain's came crawling out of the darkness and grabbed Noah, Claire and Annie.

Noah fought, but there was too many of them. They kicked him in the chest, pushing the air out of his lungs. As he fell backward he saw that the girls were being held back by one of Hunter Cain's lackeys, but they weren't hurt in the least, though they were watching the fight with terror filled eyes. Noah, having regained his breath got up to fight, but these new recruits were better than his last and he sent Noah crashing into the wall of the Burger Shack. He pinned Noah down so he could watch Rex's fight.

Rex was rushed at by Hunter Cain as Noah confronted his lackeys. "We've been through this before," as he dodges Hunter's attack, "this is the part where I kick your butt!" Rex said with his usual cockiness.

"No, this is where I get revenge…." With that Hunter Cain slammed Rex into a nearby wall. "This time I have a secret weapon."

Rex felt a searing pain run across his shoulder and abdomen. He tried to push away from the big brute but he was pressed against the wall. He cursed out as another searing pain formed across his arm. He struggled, everything was swimming. He could feel warm blood covering his body. He let out a shrill scream as Hunter laughed.

"I think I should flay you, slow and painful…."

Noah looked up and saw blood covering Rex's struggling form. He had never heard anyone scream like that, it was bloodcurdling and shrill. Noah made a feeble attempt to help his friend, but he was pinned down too hard. He could hear the faint sobbing noises coming from the girls as they all watched Hunter Cain make slow cuts on Rex's flesh.

Rex screamed louder. Suddenly his eyes focused on Hunter, his anger was clear on his face. No more feeling the searing pain he formed his Punk Busters and kicked the brute away. Rex fell to the ground but quickly got up and formed his BFS. He figured he got the extra energy from his adrenaline pumped nanites. He could basically feel them buzzing within him. Despite his injuries he ran at Hunter. Rex landed a few good hits but his injuries were starting to take a toll on his fighting skills. His arm hurt like HECK, and the cut across his body was throbbing and oozing blood.

Hunter Cain was winning, he was about to die….. He was sure of it before he saw a flash of green and Hunter being kicked to the ground. "Rex, speak to me, are you okay?" Six asked, concerned laced into his usually stoic voice. Rex didn't bother answering as he crumbled to the ground, a small knife jutting out his back. He had expected minor bruises and cuts from his date, but this was RIDICULOUS.

Rex fell to the ground with a light thump. Six was in utter shock, of course he didn't show it, but it was still there, the mind numbing shock in the back of his mind. Right behind the thoughts to kill Hunter Cain who had thrown the small blade into Rex's back. "Rex!" Six screamed, running towards him.

"Get Hunter Cain, I'll get Rex!" Noah shouted as he overthrew the lackie who had pinned him down. Six nodded briefly before he headed in the direction of Hunter Cain.

0o0

Noah had gotten an extra burst of strength as he saw the blade embed itself into Rex's back. Rex…He had known all along that something was wrong from the start of this stupid date…Noah, with his new found energy punched the unsuspecting lackie that was holding Claire. The lackie was out cold, but Noah was soon rushed at by the one that had formally held Annie. "Check if Rex is alright!" Noah screamed at the girls. They nodded, despite their fear and started towards Rex. Noah took a punch to the face as he momentarily forgot about the lackie he was supposed to be fighting. Noah threw a few punches that the lackie dodged easily. His burst of energy was slowly diminishing, but he had to do it for Rex. It was, in a way, his fault that Rex was out here in the first place. As those thoughts came to mind, Noah, out of pure rage and guilt sent the lackie smashing into the nearest wall; he looked unconscious…..or dead.

Noah ran over to Rex, the small blade no longer sticking out of his back, but in its place was a dark red spot of blood that was slowly growing bigger.

"I…uh…took out the knife…" Annie said in a shaky voice as the three teenagers grouped around Rex's still form. They slowly turned Rex over fearing the worst. It was a relief to see him breathing, even though they were shallow and ragged.

Suddenly Rex's eyes snapped open. He looked confused. "Rex….? You okay buddy…?" Noah asked innocently. Rex opened his mouth as if to answer, but what came out of his mouth was very far from an answer. His scream was worse than his last. This was even worse than bloodcurdling; there was no way to describe it. Rex's back arched, despite his injuries, the cruel sound echoed throughout the black night.

0o0

Everything froze as Six heard the scream. He was actually busy beating the living heck out of Hunter Cain when he heard IT. Darn his foolishness. Six had just earned himself a kick to the face.

"You heard that? He deserves it, he is nothing but EVO scum!" Hunter Cain spat at Six.

Six chose to remain silent, but take out his anger on this giant, brute of a man as he kicked in his teeth.

**flashback**

Six had been looking for Rex so they could both go to White and give a debriefing of the previous night's adventure with the amphibian EVO. His search proved futile, and he decided to consult Dr Holiday, who would probably know where the teenage EVO would be. Six walked into the sterile lab.

"He went out on a double date with Noah…." Holiday said casually to Six as he leaned against her desk. She didn't even bother to look up from her computer. "We've been through this Six, he has a right to have a small semblance of a real teenage life," Holiday said as she finally turned her attention to Six. "You should just go to the debriefing by yourself" Holiday said as she gave Six another knowing look.

Six sighed. Why did it always have to be so difficult? "White won't be happy…." Six said grudgingly.

"Is he ever happy?" Holiday replied as Six left the room.

Six just stared up at White as he continued to babble on about controlling Rex.

"Furthermore, Agent Six, I would have expected you to-" White was cut off by a hammering on the door.

Six knew there was something extremely wrong as Holiday opened the door, not caring if she was interrupting something gravely important.

"Holiday, why are you inter-" White started.

"It's Rex."

Six took a look at her eyes and knew that the kid was in some serious trouble. He ran out of the debriefing room with Holiday as White blipped off the screen. He followed her into her lab, where White was already waiting for them on his big screen.

"Rex's biometrics…..They've gone completely insane….." Holiday LOOKED TO Six and then at White for further instruction.

"Six, go check out what's happening, Holiday, keep monitoring Rex's biometrics" Knight ordered, as they all watched Rex's biometric flat lined.

**End of Flashback**

Six knocked out the man with the butt of his katana. He considered for a moment if he should eliminate the man, but decided against it as he knew that Rex would not want that. He left it to the Providence soldiers to gather up the broken, battered and unconscious Hunter Cain.

He headed straight for Rex, his number one priority. The teenagers were crowded around Rex. Six silently pushed passed the teenagers. Rex looked awful. He was unconscious, probably from the pain, his body was covered in ere was a giant gash across his chest…

"Noah, help me with Rex, girls, get into the jump jet" Six ordered as he bent down to gently pick up the unconscious Rex.

0o0

Noah helped Six pick up Rex. He was unconscious, and exactly like dead weight. They placed Rex carefully on one of the chairs in the back of the jump jet. Six ran to the front of the jet so he could get them heading towards Providence HQ.

The three teenagers sat at the back of the jet, utterly in shock. They all watched Rex's form as he took shallow breathes. Not one of them said a word throughout the ride to Providence. None had an idea of what to say. Noah looked at his friend. Concern chiseled into his face. Rex…He would never have dreamed this would have happened to his friend….He always came out of situations alright…Always…Right?...What had Hunter Cain said…Something about a secret weapon….

Noah's train of thought was interrupted as Six landed his jump jet. Waiting for them on the platform was a very concerned Holiday. They both carried Rex out with Claire and Annie following close behind.

Holidays eyes opened wide as she took in the sight of Rex.

Everything was a blur as Holiday screamed out orders and Rex was whisked away from them on a stretcher.

0o0

Rex looked terrible!

No wonder his biometrics flat lined! Holiday was in complete shock, yet her Doctor instincts made her call out for an emergency stretcher.

Rex was laid down on 'his' table in her lab. She examined his cuts, most were severe. He had a deep cut across his chest that was still oozing blood. There were many small cuts on his body but the worst was the one on his right arm. It seemed as if someone had tried to…flay his arm..? Was that correct? It was odd…..His nanites should have started to heal him already yet his wounds still looked fresh. She called for a nanite count and set to work on repairing the teenager.

0o0

The waiting was agonizing. Everything was mechanical, he felt numb.

Noah had gotten his cuts and bruises checked, nothing severe, but Rex's….. He couldn't get that scream out of his mind. Hunter Cain had said he had a special weapon…..that statement had brought chills to Noah as he sat in Rex's room with Annie and Claire. They had been granted to wait in Rex's quarters. They all sat in silence waiting for news on their friend.

0o0

Six walked into Rex's hospital room with the three teenagers trailing behind him. Holiday was sitting next to Rex, worry was still etched into her face as she looked up at them.

"Don't worry, Rex is fine" Holiday stated with a small smile.

They all looked down at the EVO teenager. He looked almost…..peaceful…..

Six broke the silence. "Then why do you look so concerned if he is fine?" Six saw through her whole façade that she was trying to put up. He knew there was more to it, he could see it in her eyes.

Everyone was in shock as they waited for an elaboration from Holiday.

Holiday sighed as she dropped her smile.

"I don't know Six but there is something wrong. Rex's nanites usually do half my job but now….. I don't know, they seem to be ignoring the fact that he has severe wounds. I don't know if this is a problem or if it's just the severity of his wounds, he has never had such deep cuts before. And each time we bandage up his arm it just bleeds through all the dressing," she said as she gestured to his heavily bandaged arm.

"It's just a mystery, we haven't detected anything unusual in his blood tests and nanite count…" she whispered tiredly.

They all looked back to Rex, without warning Rex opened his eyes and said, "It hurts…." He let out another scream as his body felt like it was on fire.

Noah flinched at the pain he could hear in Rex's voice.

"Rex, calm down…." Holiday tried but failed to find the right words to calm him down.

Rex breathed in a few breathes. He glanced at all the concerned faces looking down at him. Six didn't really count, but the fact that he had lines creasing his forehead said otherwise.

The burning sensation had faded, but given away to a dull, yet painful throbbing. Rex gave a slight smile, the beginnings of his famous grin. With that, everyone seemed to relax a little. "So, what's the damage…?" Rex asked trying to sit up. Holiday gently pushed him down.

"Rex, you are in no condition to sit up, just lie down and relax," Holiday explained with a sigh. She had a tired look in her eyes, she didn't know how to tell Rex that his nanites had basically shut down, temporarily, she hoped.

"Rex…." She started, drawing everyone's attention. "Your nanites, I don't know, they seem to have shut down, and they haven't started healing your wounds yet. You are healing, at a normal rate, and from the cuts you took it will take months for you to recover fully. We stitched up all your wounds yet they just bleed through." Holiday stated grimly.

Rex glanced at his arm, it was heavily bandaged and he could see a faint pink hue underneath all the thick dressing. He groaned, "I knew something bad was going to happen today," Rex said closing his eyes. "At least I don't have to share a room with the monkey while I'm in here," Rex said, trying to lighten the mood. He earned slight smiles from Noah, Annie and Claire. From Bobo he just got a look.

Six and Holiday were discussing something in the corner, in hushed voices, it was probably about him.

"You know Noah…." Rex started as everyone fixed their attention to him, the machines that were connected to him suddenly started beeping loudly. Rex's eyes bulged as he started coughing uncontrollably. Rex propped himself up on his elbows, ignoring his wounds, as he coughed louder. Everyone looked at him helplessly. Holiday ran to the monitors that were beeping loudly.

"Rex, your nanites are back online, they're reacting…" Holiday stated, yet she still didn't look happy. She was taking down notes rapidly.

Rex's awful coughing still went on, though he finally retched over the side of his bed. What distressed everyone wasn't the fact that he had thrown up, but the fact that it was blood. Rex started shaking, his body was on fire and his throat burned. His face had taken on a paler colour and his hair was suddenly drenched in sweat.

"Out!" Holiday screamed, "Six call the doctors in the next room, I need their help" Holiday started towards Rex as everyone was ushered out of the small room by Six.

"Rex….what the heck is happening to you….." Holiday mumbled as she set to work.

0o0

Holiday had emerged from the room a while later with a bunch of other doctors and scientists. She approached Six carefully, he was leaning against one of the extremely white walls. He seemed casual yet Holiday knew him well enough to know that he was in deep thought about Rex.

Six had organized for Annie, Claire and Noah to be taken home by on of Providence's jump jets. Noah had tried to fight back at the prospect of leaving his friend, but a look (behind shades) from the sixth most deadly man in the world sent him on his way. Now it was just up to Six, Holiday and Bobo to take care of Rex. Bobo, had retired for the day in his and Rex's room, complaining about not getting enough beauty sleep. Holiday seemed drained.

"His nanites…..I…how…it's….." Holiday couldn't find the right words. She just looked at Six helplessly. Doctor Holiday had never been one to show extreme weakness, she loathed being called a damsel in distress. Though, the only person she showed her 'damsel' side was to Six. She felt as if she could tell and show Six anything and he would understand. Right now Doctor Rebecca Holiday was seeking comfort, from the sixth most deadly man in the world. Yeah, she was just that desperate.

Rebecca, what's wrong with Rex?" Six asked. He liked using her first name, only when they were alone.

"Six, remember that I said his nanites were reacting? They reacted in the worst way possible, they are basically shutting down. I don't know what's making them react that way either, because his blood tests say there are no unnatural toxins in his bloodstream. His nanites, one by one, are breaking down, it's happening slowly but surely. And as time progresses, he is just going to get worse. When he started coughing…..his nanites were trying to reactivate and help him heal. If I could just get a hold of what is causing them to shut down, I could reverse engineer the effects, but we can't detect a thing….." Holiday said quietly, she was looking at the floor. She slowly looked up to Six for some comfort.

Six was at a complete lose for words. Rex always made it out of the toughest situations healthy and ready to carry on. He has never seen Rex in such a state before, and judging by what Holiday had just said….He looked to Holiday, she looked so sad and drained.

"So, what do we do?" Six asked, looking away from her pleading eyes.

"Honestly Six, I don't know, but we should at least inform White on his 'weapon'" Holiday said bitterly, walking away from Six. She would never know it, but Six had made the slightest movement to take her hand, but it was not enough.

0o0

_Nanite count: 350 000….Functioning levels nanite count decreasing…..System reboot…Deterioration level at 20 percent…Following protocol putting boot…Abort…..Nanite count: 345 662…Functioning levels protocol aborted….._

0o0

Holiday sighed as she walked away from the debriefing room. She was going to need a heck of a load of coffee to sustain her if she was going to figure this thing out. She made her way to the kitchen, and put some water to boil. She leaned against the counter. White had seemed almost caring…Holiday was shocked, she had seen the slight worry in White Knights eyes as she explained the whole situation to him. He seemed…..Concerned…..

Holiday was distracted by the sound of the automatic doors sliding open. It was Six, she always knew when the doors slide open and no footsteps accompany it, it was always Six.

"Make that two'" Six said, referring to the coffee.

Holiday smiled genuinely. Did Six just ask her to make coffee for him? What an unbelievable day. She knew how he liked his coffee, strong and black. She handed Six his coffee, he took it without a word. They both stood in silence, leaning against the counters. They were both deep in thought as they sipped their drinks.

"What did White say?" Six asked stoically.

"It's weird you know, I may start to believe that that man actually has a heart," Holiday smiled despite herself. "…Six, I know that you worry about Rex…" Holiday ventured.

"Doctor, we should check on Rex," Six cut across her, not wanting to venture too far in that subject. Six placed his now empty cup on the counter and waited for Holiday to do the same.

They walked in a comfortable silence back to Rex's room. Though, when they entered they couldn't believe their eyes. Holiday could see Six stiffen beside her. Holiday desperately glanced about the room. Rex was missing? How could that be possible? An hour ago he was literally in no shape to even lift a finger, and now, he was gone?

She ran out of the room trailing behind Six. He ran into the briefing room where he found the microphone. "Agent Six here, report sightings of teenage boy Rex, at once," Six slammed down the microphone and was already on the run throughout Providence to find Rex. Everyone was rushing about, the tone that Six had used had put everyone into hyper drive. They were all afraid of the man, I mean, who wouldn't be?

Holiday had tried to keep up with Six but the man was just too fast as he rounded the corners.

0o0

Six skidded around the corner in a complete panic. Where the heck had Rex gone! Six finally came to the door and punched in the code. He entered Rex's small quarters to find Bobo still fast asleep, with Rex nowhere in sight.

"Bobo, have you seen Rex?" Six said slightly annoyed that Bobo hadn't even heard the announcement that he made.

"Hey Green Man, how could you of lost a….." Bobo said glancing towards Six. He was cut of by the aura the Agent was giving off.

Bobo quickly jumped of his hammock and ran with Six down Providence's hallways in search of Rex.

"Agent Six, I report sightings of Rex in quadrant 4, sector C, I repeat quadrant 4 sector C," Six heard a females voice through his COM link.

Six skidded to a halt, he was heading in the wrong direction. "Holiday, meet us at quadrant 4, sector C," Six said into his COM link. He turned around and started sprinting, with Bobo at his heels. They had just entered sector C when they saw IT. Both Bobo and Six stopped in their tracks. Right then, Holiday ran up to them panting. She was out of breathe yet her eyes were full of dread and fear as she took in the sight. She looked to Six and Bobo for some sort of explanation but they were of no help.

Providence's usually white walls were now deep shades of maroon as someone's blood covered it. There were streaks everywhere, and they all had an idea from whom it came from.

0o0

Obviously it was a dream. It was always a dream. Life could never be so serene and calm, even without nanites. Yet Rex found himself enjoying the serene beauty, even though it was just another dream.

Rex enjoyed this new world, so stark in its beauty. He knew that this was all in his head. He wouldn't want to leave such a place, ever. Especially because she was here. In real life she would be on the opposing side, sending threatening glares his way.

Circe had just come out of the sparkling blue water, looking lovely as usual. Rex was casually leaning against a rock, knees up and arms behind his head. He looked at Circe's slender legs, her wet hair dangling-

"Rex, don't stare," Circe threatened sweetly as she walked back to him. She picked up her large T-shirt and quickly put it on.

"Sorry Circ, but-"Rex ventured with his devious grin.

"Don't even try to hit me with one of your lame Spanish quotes, Rex you know better," Circe scolded as she sat next to Rex with her head resting on his chest.

"They are not lame….." Rex pouted, but quickly gave it up to flash his grin. He sighed and looked away.

"Rex…" Circe said hopefully while hugging his chest.

"Makes me wonder Circe, why I'm in this world and what's happening in the real world," Rex said grimly. "What if something happened?" Rex looked at her with hopeful eyes.

Circe had no words to offer Rex, she just looked at him because she knew that he was going to leave this wonderful dream soon.

Rex loved this world, but he knew that it would be risky to stay so he gently pushed Circe off and stood up to look at the blue ocean. He could stay in this world forever, though that nagging feeling in the back of his mind willed him to return to the nightmare of real life.

0o0

Six made the first move to actually see the source of the red mess; he walked carefully with Bobo and Holiday following behind him in a grim silence. Six had seen a lot of blood in his life, I mean he was a mercenary before, but it was a whole different issue if the source of all the blood was from someone you actually cared about. Well, that was their only guess, that the source of the blood was from Rex. Each one of them held on to the microscopic hope that it wasn't, though each of them held their own doubts.

Six, after recovering after his slight shock walked further down the corridors. The blood on the walls suggested that the person had started to struggle with the blood lose, and was leaning heavily on the walls for support. The blood was in thick streaks on the wall, they also rounded the corner. Six quickly walked around the corner to see what all of them hoped not to.

Obviously Rex was the source of the blood. Life was never easy or simple. Six had learned this many years ago, and it was also time that Holiday starts learning it. He heard Holiday gasp loudly beside him, as her legs buckled beneath her and she fell to the ground in a slight heap.

On the other side of the corridor there were Providence soldiers standing at a distance, guns at the ready. Six moved with his fast reflexes before anyone did something stupid. Rex's back was to him, he was leaning against the wall for support, hunched over in a sort of pain. As he reached Rex he walked slower and spoke in a soft voice. "Rex…"

Suddenly Rex lashed out at him with his BFS. He screamed incoherently while trying to cut Six to pieces. Six dodged easily, and told the soldiers at the end of the corridor to put their guns down. He pulled out his katanas and blocked Rex's blows. They were sloppy and inaccurate, but Six could tell that the teen put all his energy behind them.

Six locked eyes with Rex, those weren't Rex's usual brown, smiling eyes. They shone with black malice. His brown irises were now a coal black rimmed with a blood red glow. Black crack lines were covering his eyes and down his face. He looked horrific, deep hating eyes and a body covered in blood.

White Knight will definitely be beyond rage. There was no way to conceal this little incident. There were too many eye witnesses that would obviously talk. Not to mention the security cameras hidden in the walls. Yeah, Knight was going to have his head.

Rex tried to lunge again at him, but he faltered and fell to the ground. The wound across his chest leaving stains of blood across the floor. Holiday moved to help him but Six put his katanas in her way. He looked at her and shook his head slightly. Who knew how stable Rex was now? He could lash out at Holiday and she would be defenseless!

Six moved in her place to help Rex but as he reached him Rex screamed," GET AWAY" rage evident in his voice. But wait, rage at what? Rex got up slowly using the wall as support, yet again he formed his BFS and tried to kill Six. His injuries were weighing him down, it was easy for Six to block all of his advances.

Suddenly Rex faltered. He blinked several times, stumbling against the wall. He looked at Six again but the crack lines were receding. Several emotions washed over Rex's pale face. Realization, horror, regret and last but not least white hot pain.

Six, without missing a beat folded up his katanas, put them away and then moved to Rex's side. Rex had collapsed against the wall and was slowly sliding down onto the floor. Six called for help from Bobo and the Providence soldiers that had not run away. They carried Rex all the way back to his recovery room with Holiday leading the way. The whole way there Rex was still, occasionally making slight whimpering noises.

Six knew this kind of pain. He had dealt with such injuries in his past. Working his was up to being called the sixth deadliest man in the world wasn't easy and came with consequences. Just ask the scar running across his back, it still hadn't left him after all these years…..

When they finally reached the room Holiday ordered them to place Rex onto the bed. They tried to put him down as gently as possible. Holiday set to work, again, and told them all to leave. Again…..came the agonizing waiting. He knew that there would be nothing else he could do, so Six decided that he should take a stroll through the white corridors of Providence.

Six knew that this was hell. Providence soldiers were known to not keep secrets, he supposed he could probably scare them into not saying anything about what had just happened. But what was the point? There was camera footage of what happened, and there was a whole section in Providence where the usually white walls were now a red mess. The monkey wasn't a problem. Yes, Bobo is known for not keeping secrets in the vicinity of a large pizza, but this was different. Bobo could be loyal in these situations, he was certain.

Six looked up as he heard footsteps.

"Agent Six, White Knight would like a word in the briefing room," one of the nameless soldiers informed him.

Obviously he was in trouble with Knight, all he could do now was to follow the soldier to the briefing room. Hoping that White will be as understanding as he could be. Hoping that he remembers the slight fondness that he knows Knight holds for Rex.

0o0

"If you and Holiday can't control him then I will be forced to use other methods," White said sternly.

Six kept silent throughout Whites ranting. He knew that whatever small liking White had held for Rex was now completely gone. He could see it in the man's eyes, which held pure rage and hate after watching five minutes of the surveillance cameras. White had started his rant with blaming Rex, and stating that he is and always will be an uncontrollable EVO. Then he had moved on to blaming him and Holiday for not controlling him. Six wondered what other methods White would use to control Rex. With no doubt it would be violent, but Six knew better than to voice his thoughts, he remained professional and composed while listening to White. It was not that Six was scared of White, his superior stature, it was the simple fact that Six was not one for verbal conflict. He preferred to settle such situations with his sharpened katanas.

White rubbed his temples. A small vein was showing through his pale skin, right next to his eye. "Six, I trust we will not have another incident like this again," White stated.

All he got was a curt nod from Six, that was all he was going to get, nothing more nothing less. What was wrong with Knight? Six thought as he turned around and walked out of the automatic doors. How did he not get that Rex was currently sick, it was not his fault. It was…..no ones fault? But all of this had happened when Hunter Cain had tried to take revenge. Was it possible that his wounds had gotten infected? Was that why he had tried to kill everyone? Was his nanites reacting towards his infected wounds? But if his wounds were infected Holiday would have detected it, so that rules out all of those questions.

Without realizing it Six had made his way to Rex's hospital room, the door was still closed. Which meant Holiday was still in there, still busy with Rex. Six sighed, how much longer was it going to take? The agonizing wait had started again, all he could do was ponder what had happened to Rex. He was sure he would have a mental relapse at the end of this.

0o0

Six walked into Rex's normal quarters. He looked at Bobo's bed, but the monkey wasn't anywhere in sight. Maybe Bobo was doing his thinking in the training rooms. Six looked around the room, small yet made cozy by Rex and Bobo. Suddenly something on the dressing table caught Six's eye. He made his way to the small table and picked up Rex's cell phone. Rex was always slightly forgetful, it was no wonder he forgot his cell phone when going out on his double date.

Suddenly something clicked in his mind. An idea, it was worth the try, wasn't it? Six flipped open the phone and searched through Rex's contacts.

0o0

"What is it Rex?" Circe answered the phone, irritation evident in her voice. "I'm actually pretty busy right now, you just interrupted my… Rex?" Circe questioned, slightly confused by his uncharacteristic silence.

"It's Six….." Six ventured. He hadn't thought this out thoroughly. But he realized he didn't have to as he could hear the fear that was in Circe's voice when she said, "Six, what's wrong with him? Never mind, explanations later, I'm coming." She hung up.

Was it that simple? Six had thought she would be the hard one that was why he had called her first. He figured that she would need convincing to come to the aid of Rex. He was going to say that it was only fair that she help them after Rex had saved Abysus by bring Van Kliess back to life. But evidently she cared for him too much, she did not need persuasion. Ah, young love, she had known that something was wrong, why else would Six use Rex's phone. Six gave a rare, slight smile. So, that was one down, now he just had to call Noah, Tuck, Skwydd and Cricket.

0o0

The last to arrive was Circe, he met her in the hangar. He knew that she was here at a risk, he thought about what Van Kliess would do to her if he knew that she had come to Providence. They walked in silence, Six looked at Circe out the corner of his eye. Worry was etched into her face. She walked in a grim silence, in Six's opinion, he thought that no teenage girl should ever hold such a grim stance. They made their way through the white walled corridors of Providence, with each step, Six hoped that bringing Rex's friends together would help.

0o0

Circe looked at the white walls, they all looked the same and were all a sickly white. How did Rex live here? She looked at the walls again, looking for some sort of distraction but she found none. Except in one area. Nameless soldiers of Providence were scrubbing the walls thoroughly. All around them was blood, to be more specific, dried blood. The soldiers were trying to clean the mess off the walls. Her gaze stayed on the mess until they passed by. She had an uneasy feeling starting in her stomach, was the blood on the walls related to Rex? If so, it was worse than she had thought. What exactly had happened here?

They had finally made it to an open room door. Six gestured for her to enter, she did so reluctantly. She looked around at the familiar and unfamiliar face. There was Rex's friend Noah, standing next to Holiday who was sitting in a chair with a clipboard in her hands. They didn't even acknowledge her presence. All Holiday seemed to do was read over words on the clipboard, glancing up occasionally to look at some monitors next to her. In the corner of the room there were three EVOs that she didn't recognise. They stood murmuring among one another, and looked up as she entered, but then continued their murmuring once more.

Last of all her gaze fell on the shape that was Rex. She let out a small gasp and moved slowly to his side. His skin had taken on a paleness that was akin to her own. But it was completely wrong on him, he had always had an amazing Latino tan. His skin also looked transparent, his veins were visible. He had a large bandage wrapped around his chest, yet the bandage had massive blood stains on it. His whole body looked thinner and gaunt.

She would not cry. Not here, not in front of all these people, but seeing Rex in such a state had touched a nerve. She looked at everyone in the room, which she had only realized now were staring at her. Too late, tears started streaming down her face, she rubbed at them angrily.

"Why did you call me here?" she demanded weakly. She expected Six to answer but it was Holiday who answered.

"We thought that you could help, if you know anything, anything at all…" Holiday said, still distracted by the monitors next to her.

Finally her tears stopped and she looked at all the faces in the room, she could see the hope in their eyes. She could see the hope that she might know what was wrong with Rex. "I don't…I…" she said weakly. They all knew it by her tone, there was nothing she or anyone in the room could do. They all look defeated, including her.

0o0

Suddenly Noah had an outburst.

"I think I know something that could possibly help," he looked around at all the faces with expectation plastered over all of them. (Except Six)

"Well, while I was fighting one of Hunter Cain's lackeys I heard him say something to Rex before he…..uh…you rt Rex," Noah said, grimacing at the image that flashed across his mind at the thought. "He said that he had a special weapon, a weapon that he was going to use against Rex for revenge," Noah said, his brows knitting together in thought. He looked up expectantly.

The hope that all the faces had held was back.

"What do you think this 'weapon' was, was it a person or an actual weapon?" Tuck said.

"I think that it could've been an actual weapon, Hunter Cain doesn't trust anyone but himself. I think it could have been the blade he was using," Noah said softly, more to himself than anyone else.

"Noah, if what you said is true then that could be our solution," Holiday said jumping up from her seat. She had a small smile on her face, hope had returned to her. "If I could get this blade of Hunter Cain then maybe I can work out what is wrong with Rex. Maybe the blade was, say dipped into a toxin, poison or chemical that makes nanites shut down. I could extract the substance from the blade and make an antidote. It's a far cry, though…I wonder, if this is the solution, who could of possibly made such a substance…But this is our only lead, so I say we should go for it," Holiday said.

Noah looked at everyone in the room, they all had slight grins on their faces. This was the effect of hope on people, even Six donned a slight smile. Circe had stopped crying and looked determined, while the EVOs he had met mere minutes ago all looked happier than before. He put on a grin himself, he just hoped that he was right….

0o0

They all turned to the sudden coughing; all their grins and smiles had faded. Rex was awake, Circe moved to his side without missing a beat. Tuck, Cricket and Skwydd moved to the other side of his bed while Noah decided to stay back with Holiday and Six.

"Circe? Tuck? Cricket? Skywydd? What…?" Rex asked softly, looking around at all the people huddled around his bed.

Circe looked at Rex's watery eyes, the sight of him made her eyes water.

"Chica, what are you doing here?" Rex said, fatigue evident in his voice.

"Rex, don't worry, just know that I'm here for you, okay?" Circe said, her voice was laden with emotion that she had denied herself many times. She could see that Rex's normal joking tone was completely gone, either from the pain or the emotion, she did not know.

"Listen, everyone," Rex said, this caught the attention of everyone in the room, Noah, Holiday and Six also moved in on his bed, " I know this isn't what you guys want to hear but I can feel myself slipping," Rex closed his eyes.

Circe gingerly took his hand, "No Rex, you are not going to leave me and all the people you care about."

"Listen Circe, I know what you mean but I can't help it. I'm slipping, I can feel my end…..its nearing. I just want you to know that I will always love you…" Rex looked at her with eyes full of longing, he gently pulled his hand away. Circe let out a small sob, she had always denied her emotions but now it all came flooding back to her.

Rex tore his gaze away from her and looked at his old gang. "Guys, I don't really remember you but I can tell that you were always good friends…and Cricket, you look beautiful," Rex gave her a slight smile. He knew that Cricket had had a crush on him before, he decided that he needed to tell her that.

"Noah, nothing else to say but that you will always be my best bro," Rex said, giving Noah an inkling of his famous grin.

"Holiday, if anyone can find a cure for the nanites, it will be you," Rex said, tearing his gaze away from Holidays silent tears. Btu what he also saw on her face was hope.

"Six…. You-" Rex started but was cut off by Six.

"Rex, no, your end might be near but we can change that. All of you, we are going to the Providence prison to talk to Hunter Cain. Holiday you stay here, and make sure Rex is still here when we return." With that Six walked off with four EVOs and a teenage boy trailing behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

**This starts my story. I don't own any of the characters.**

Two grunts brought Cain into a small integration room. Six and the small group of teens stared at him from behind the glass.

"Jerk." Muttered Cricket.

"I'd like to see how tough he is without his weapons and lackeys." Noah growled.

Six said nothing and walked into the room. The teens stood looking.

"Okay, Cain we know you did something to the knife you stabbed Rex with. Now tell us and we might go easy on you." Six planted both hands in front of Cain and got close to his face.

Cain merely cackled. "You're so smart you figure it out. That stinking EVO is as good as dead."

Six grabbed him and threw him against the wall. "Listen, you poor excuse for a human. You will tell me what you did to that blade or I will show you what I can do with mine." At that a single magna blade slid out of his sleeve and he held it at Cain's throat.

"Go ahead, EVO lover. With me gone you have no chance of finding out what happened." He smirked.

Suddenly the door flew open. Circe walked in.

"Get out of the way." She ordered Six.

Six paused but then stepped aside.

Circe transformed her mouth and blasted Cain. His pants disintegrated. Cain stood in his boxers shocked.

"Now, you'll tell us what you did with the blade or I will do that to your internal organs one by one. I doubt you'll die right away but in the end you'll be begging me to end you." She said coldly.

At that Cain actually started sweating, "You wouldn't." He tried to look nonplussed.

"I wouldn't stop her." Six crossed his arms.

Circe's secondary mouth extended again.

"Okay,okay." He blubbered. "I don't know what was on the blade but I bought it from some dealer. He guaranteed that it would kill any EVO's on contact."

Six grabbed him by his collar. "Who is he?"

"I don't know. All I have is a number I can reach him." Cain nervously eyed the EVO girl with the sonic scream.

"Well then?" Six prompted.

A few minutes later they had procured a number and Cain was back in his cell.

"What are we going to do now?" Noah asked.

"We make a phone call." Six said as he dialed the number.

Everyone anxiously held their breath as they listened to the rings… one, two, three, four,… When they almost gave up hope that anyone would answer there was a click

"Yeah?" Came a voice at the other end.

"I'm looking to purchase a weapon effective against EVO's and was told that you were the man to go to." Six said.

There was silence on the other end. Noah was afraid that the man at the other end had hung up.

"Meet me in an hour." The man gave coordinates that Six immediately wrote down.

"I'll be there." Six affirmed.

When he hung up, he looked over at the grunt. "Did you trace that number?"

"Sorry, sir." The grunt said nervously. "The number came from an unregistered cell phone."

Six gritted his teeth. Then they only had one lead.

"Wait," Noah cried.

Everyone looked at him expectantly. "What happened to the knife that Cain used?"

"I think it was left at the scene." Six said trying to think back to that hectic moment.

"Maybe we can get that knife?" Noah asked.

"Good idea." Six approved. We'll split up. Noah, Tuck, Skwydd, and Cricket go see if you can find the knife. I'll go meet our mysterious arms dealer."

"What am I doing?" Circe demanded.

"You stay here and keep an eye on Rex. If he has another episode I need you and Holiday here to calm him down.

It was evident that Circe did not like that idea but nonetheless she reluctantly nodded.

0o0

Noah and the three EVO's arrived back at the scene of the attack. It had been cleaned up.

"Excuse me." Noah asked one of the employees. What happened to the... uhhh, weapons from the fight here?"

The employee grumbled, " You kids always looking for some sort of gossip."

Skwydd grabbed the man and lifted him up." Listen, a friend is in trouble and we just want to know where this knife went to, ok?"

The employee looked at the very angry EVO. "I..I..I d...d...don't know. I think the cops came and took everything. For evidence."

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it? Skwydd put the trembling man down. "Let's go."

A few minutes later they stood in front of the police station.

"Listen, you guys wait out here. I don't know how the cops would react to ummm..." Noah tried to find a nice way to say it.

"Three freaks. Yeah, we know. We'll wait in the alley." Tuck said with a slight tinge of bitterness.

"I didn't mean it like that. " Noah said apologetically.

"It's okay. We're use to it." Cricket said softly. The three EVO's made their way to the alley.

Noah took a deep breath. He wasn't sure how he was going to do this. Walk in and casually say, "Hi guys do you happen to have a knife used by the evil Hunter Cain?" Yeah, that'll work well. But here goes nothing. Noah pushed the door open and walked into the station.


	3. Chapter 3

**Don't own any of the characters.**

Six stood alone in the abandoned warehouse on the pier. It was dark and silent. Six had a bad feeling about this. He checked the time. The man he was waiting for was 10 minutes late. He had come alone because he didn't want to scare the arms dealer. But he wasn't stupid. Captain Calan and a team of agents were waiting for his signal about 100 meters away.

Suddenly his sharp ears picked up a sound. He had to restrain himself from bringing out his magna blades.

"So you came, finally." Six tried to put some annoyance in his voice so as to play the part of a buyer. Unfortunately, he hadn't counted on the seller to be someone he knew.

"Don't patronize me Agent Six." Snapped a familiar voice. "I know why you're here."

Now Six brought out his blades. He had hoped to never hear that voice again. Dr. Fell!

"Come out Fell!" Six spun around trying to ascertain where the voice was coming from.

"I don't think so." The warehouse had an echo which made it hard for Six to pinpoint the doctor.

"What lead you to become an arms dealer? Seems a little beneath you." Six was trying to keep the doctor talking.

"After you and that EVO ruined me I had no choice." He said bitterly. "But on the up side I can now provide my specialty weapons to people who will deal with Providence's secret weapon."

"What did you give Cain?"Six demanded.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Fell chuckled evilly.

"Fell!" Six yelled angrily.

"Good bye Agent Six." Six heard a ticking sound. He knew exactly what that was. Six ran for the exit but it was too late. An explosion engulfed the warehouse.

0o0

Noah was currently standing in the police station. With the hustle and bustle in the room no one noticed the lone boy standing looking lost in the lobby. People pushed past him as if he wasn't there. An uninterested officer sat at the front desk. Noah watched as a couple walked up to him.

"Officer, the precinct called us to come down. They say they caught the man who snatched my purse."

The uninterested officer pointed them to a bench. "Sit there and I'll contact the officer in charge."

"But officer," The woman continued. "Is there anyway I can get my purse back now. I need my wallet back."

"It's probably in the evidence room downstairs. You'll get it back after you file the proper paperwork. Now please wait over there." The officer said curtly.

Evidence room! That's probably where the knife is! But he couldn't just file paper work to get it. There must be another way. He nonchalantly walked past the officer at the desk and walked into the backrooms where officers at their desks were working. No one even looked at him as he filed past them to the back door. He saw some officers walk out of a room with the sign "Authorized Personnel Only." The officers were talking to each other and gave no notice to the lone boy standing in the hallway. As the door was about to slam shut, Noah stuck his foot out to stop it from closing all the way. Making sure that no one was around he entered, he made his way into the room. It looked like the locker room. The officer said that the evidence room was downstairs. There must be a door to get down there. He looked around. He realized he had no idea where to find the evidence room. For all he knew it might not even be here. All of a sudden he heard the door to the locker room open and voices talking. He frantically looked for a place to hide.

0o0

Cain sat in his cell. He was fuming. That EVO girl had made a fool of him. He would not easily forget that. He was going to finish her and that filthy EVO Rex if it's the last thing he does. He kicked the wall in frustration. The sound of a body falling, however, caught his attention. He walked over to the bars of his cell. The main door to the prison slid open. Cain saw an agent on the floor. In walked one of his lackeys.

"About time." Cain growled as the man swiped the unconscious agent's security card. His cell door opened.

"Sorry, sir. It was harder than I thought to infiltrate the base.

"No matter. I'm out now. Let's finish this," Cain said as the henchman threw him his blaster. Cain cocked his fire arm.

"Let's pay a certain EVO a visit." He grinned.

0o0

Circe sat with Rex as Doctor Holiday continued to monitor Rex's vital signs. Circe was a little uncomfortable around her. As far as Circe was concerned she was still the enemy. But Dr. Holiday was treating Circe as anything but the foe. She smiled at Circe, asked if she needed anything, and tried to make small talk. Circe was a little confused as to how she felt about this strange woman who seemed to care so much about Rex. She was opposite of everything Van Kleiss had told her about how people at Providence was suppose to be.

"Is Rex going to be all right?" Circe asked the doctor.

"I hope so." Doctor Holiday's eyes were tired and a little red from her rubbing them to keep awake. "I know Six won't rest until he gets answers and I won't either." She smiled reassuringly at the girl. Somehow Circe didn't feel like smiling back. She held Rex's hand willing him to hang on long enough for these adults to find a way to help him.

Unexpectedly, Dr. Holiday's hand flew to her comlink in her ear.

"What?" She gasped. "It can't be. How? All right evasive action." She turned to the EVO girl.

"Cain has escaped his cell. He's disabled the security and locked us out of our computers. He's probably coming to finish off Rex.

"What are we going to do?" Circe asked alarmed.

Holiday bit her lip. "It's risky but I have an idea. You have to trust me."

Circe looked at the doctor and nodded. She wasn't sure why but she did trust her.

"What do you want me to do?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Don't own any of the characters.**

Calan sat in the Providence tank waiting for Six's signal. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He checked his watch. An explosion shook him out of his seat. He pulled himself up and pushed the intercom button."Report!" He snapped.

"Sir! There was an explosion in the warehouse where Agent Six was suppose to meet the arms dealer." A grunt replied.

Calan cursed. "We need to get over there now!" He started the tank.

When they reached the site, a raging fire greeted them.

"Sir, do you think Agent Six was in there?" One of the men quietly asked him.

Calan gritted his teeth. He jumped out of the tank and tried to walk over to the warehouse. He put his arm up to his head to try to ward off the stinging heat coming from the inferno.

"SIX!" He felt stupid. If Six was in there he's as good as gone. Yet he felt compelled to call for him. "SIX!"

His comlink crackled with static but he could make out his voice, stoic as ever. "Six here."

Calan released the breath he was holding. "Good lord, man! You scared me to death, where are you?"

"In the water. It was Fell." Six said.

Calan directed the men to the water's edge to look for Six. "Fell? You mean Dr. Fell?"

"One and the same." This time it was almost a growl.

"I'll put out an all-points bulletin to be on the look out for him." Calan promised.

Six was currently bobbing up and down in the rough water. He waved when he saw the Providence agents who threw a life preserver in his direction. Six knew he was lucky. Since he knew he wouldn't make it to the exit he cut a hole through the floor. It so happen that the warehouse was directly under the water which absorbed the impact from the explosion. That was the only reason he was still alive.

He gritted his teeth as they pulled him in. But they lost their only lead. He hoped Noah and the others were having better luck.

0o0

The two officers walked into the locker room.

" Hey, Joe you going to the evidence locker?"

"Yeah, the lady filled out the paper work."

"Have fun. It's a mess down there right now. There's all that crap from that EVO incident at the Burger Shack."

"Didn't they sort it out?"

"Naaa, they just dumped everything in a pile. The chief wouldn't let Providence have it."

"Why?"

"Dunno. But between you and me I think the chief hates EVO's and Providence."

"Can't say I'm fond of EVO's myself." Joe walked to the door in the back of the locker. He took out his key and unlocked the door.

"See you later."

"Later, Joe."

The officer went to his locker, grabbed his jacket and left.

Noah tumbled from the top of the lockers. Now he knew where the evidence was held.

He heard footsteps coming from the evidence room. He quickly hid behind the door.

Joe opened the door and walked out with the purse. He didn't even notice Noah behind the door. Noah again grabbed the door before it closed and swiftly went in. He ran down the stairs and stopped.

Darn it! The evidence was locked behind a gate. He could see the knife lying on top of some debris from the fight in a plastic bag. But there wasn't anyway Noah could get in without breaking something. Then they would know. Noah looked around and spotted a thin sliver of a window. He climbed up on some boxes to get a better look. It actually could open. He managed to unlock and push it open a crack. It was rusty but functional. Noah was getting an idea. He left the window open and jumped down. He ran back up the stairs and out the locker. He ran out of the police station. he had to get Rex's friends from the alleyway. This would require precision timing and acting.

0o0

Circe and Holiday carried Rex to an abandoned lab.

"This room hasn't been used in years." Holiday told Circe. Circe ran her finger through the dust that had collected on the equipment.

"Yeah, I can see." Circe brushed the dust off her finger.

"So it won't be connected to the main computer. Cain doesn't have access to anything in here." Holiday added absorbed in her own world. "You and Rex stay here."

"What?" Circe asked alarmed. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to distract Cain. I'm going to lead him away from you." Holiday answered pulling out a Providence blaster.

"But he'll kill you if he catches you." Circe protested.

"Well, then he better not catch me." She said wryly. "Meantime I want you to try to contact Six on the old radio frequency. Cain won't have access to that either."

Circe nodded surprised at Holiday's self-sacrifice. " But if Rex gets worse."

"He's stable for now. Let's hope Six gets back in time."

"But even if he gets back. They'll need you to find the cure." Circe said.

"We'll worry about one thing at a time. Right now Cain can not get anywhere near Rex. Understood? " Circe was surprised at the fierceness of the doctor's voice.

"Understood."

"Good girl. I know I can count on you." She gave the girl a smile.

Circe wished she felt as confident as the doctor. But this time she gave a small smile back. Holiday cocked her gun and left the lab. She shut the door.

As the door slid shut she added.

"Don't let anyone in this room except me or Six."

Circe nodded even though Holiday couldn't see her anymore. "Good luck." She whispered.


	5. Chapter 5

**Do Not Own The Characters!**

Noah found the trio in the alleyway.

"Guys, I found the knife but it's locked away. I need help getting it out."

"What's the plan?" Cricket asked not wasting any time.

"Rex told me once that you can compress yourself." Noah addressed Tuck.

"Yeah, what about it?" Tuck asked curious.

Noah outlined his plan. The others paid close attention.

"Sounds risky." Tuck said.

"Yeah, it is."Noah admitted.

"Let's do this then." Skwydd said. Noah grinned. He knew he liked Rex's friends for a reason.

A few minutes later Noah and Skwydd was in front of the police station.

"Hey, you got ink on my shoes. "Noah yelled as loud as he could.

"Why don't you watch where you're going?" Skwydd snapped back.

"Why don't you?" Noah shot back.

Just as Noah had hoped a crowd was forming.

Noah and Skwydd continued arguing.

Meanwhile Tuck and Cricket went to the side of the Police station where Noah had left the window opened. Tuck flattened himself and Cricket slid him through the opening. Tuck stretched his arms to the floor and the rest of his body followed. He saw the knife. It was exactly where Noah had said it was. He flattened his hand and stretched slid it under the small gap between the gate and the floor. He grabbed the knife and pulled it out.

Got it! But before he could get out of the basement, he heard the click of a gun.

"Filthy EVO. Think you can help your friend?"

Tuck looked up. It was the police chief and he held a gun up to the teenage EVO. Tuck put two and two together.

"Wait! You're part of Hunter Cain's group!"

"Ohh, so smart. Too bad that knife is going to disappear and you'll never know how to help your friend." The police chief pulled the trigger.

0o0

Holiday knew her plan was a long shot. She needed to find Hunter Cain and lead him away from Rex and Circe. She couldn't communicate with White Knight or anyone else in Providence. She could only assume she was on her own. She hoped somehow Circe could make contact with Six.

All the doors had to be manually opened. She pried open the door only to come face to face with Cain! She fired the first shot then turned and ran as fast as her legs can carry her. Cain ducked and then shouted to his henchman. "After her! She knows where the EVO is." They quickly scrambled after her.

Holiday ran down the main corridor. She stopped when the corridor split. Which way to lead them? She mentally calculated Rex and Circe's position. A shot hit just above her head. She instinctively ducked and ran down the left pathway. Cain and his henchman saw her figure fled down the left side. They followed her firing on her.

0o0

Circe heard shots come from outside the room. Rex moaned.

"Shhh." She hushed him while stroking his hair. It seemed to calm him and he fell back asleep. When she was sure he was out, she tried to reach Six again on the radio.

"Agent Six, please come in. We're in trouble here." Circe pled into the receiver. However, only static met her ears. "Come on! Someone answer!" She slammed the receiver. Only static.

Rex started coughing again. Circe left the radio and went to him.

"Chica, what's going on." Rex was sweating. Circe felt his forehead. He was burning up!

"Don't worry Rex I'm here." I won't let him get you. She promised silently. "Rest. Dr. Holiday will have you as good as new soon."

Rex closed his eyes. His shallow breath scared the girl. "Hang in there Rex. Everything'll be all right." She said it more to herself than him. She stroked his head. Her cold hands felt good on his burning forehead.

"Circe," He muttered. "I love you."

Circe's heart skipped a beat. It was just the fever talking but she felt elated and depressed at the same time. They technically were on the wrong side. Unless something changed they could never be together. But she whispered to him, "I love you too, Rex."

A small smile tugged at his lips before he fell into another restless sleep.

Tears were in her eyes as she went back to the radio.

"Please someone answer." She said not really expecting a response. But then she heard something through the static.

"Six here. What's going on?" Her heart skipped for the second time that day but for a different reason. "Agent Six, we're in trouble."

0o0

Six listened grimly through the static. He couldn't make out everything Circe said but enough to know Hunter Cain was on the loose and that Holiday was in trouble. That in and of itself made him move faster than he ever had in his life. Six didn't even wait for Calan to mobilize his forces. He jumped into his jet and made his way back to Providence. Six hoped he was not too late.


	6. Chapter 6

**It's freezing here in the northeast US. Single digits. Hope you are safe and warm wherever you are. Thank you poppy and fanaticagenrex for your reviews. **

**I don't own nada.**

Tuck dodge the shot and extended his bandages to knock the gun out of the chief's hand. The chief was quick for such a large man. He managed to dodge the bandages and to hold on to the gun. He rolled and fired off another shot that Tuck dodged. Cricket saw what was happening but couldn't help from the outside. Or could she? She kicked through the window leaving a massive hole in the wall. She grabbed a brick and threw it at the police chief. The man was not expecting the attack and was easily knocked out.

"Uh, thanks. " Tuck said.

" Where's the knife?" Cricket asked.

"Right here. He had it wrapped tight against him still in the plastic bag.

"Let's get out of here before they notice the hole." Cricket gestured to the hole.

Tuck nodded and extended his hands to the window to pull himself out. Cricket jumped from the floor to the hole. They both ran to get Skwydd and Noah.

0o0

Holiday fired off some more shots behind her. She wasn't trying to hit anyone. She was just trying to keep them on her tail. The more they chased her, the further away they were from Rex. As she ran a security door suddenly shut in front of her trapping her.

"Well, well EVO lover. No where to go." Came the menacing voice behind her.

She had forgotten they had control of the base and the stupid security door.

She turned around and was about to fire when the gun was shot out of her hand.

"Now if you'll kindly tell us where that EVO is." Cain walked toward her.

Holiday didn't answer. Instead she pulled out a grenade and tossed it at them. The men scattered as the grenade landed. Meanwhile Holiday kicked the grate out of a floor vent and jumped through. There was an explosion from above her as she slid down the vent.

Cain stood up. "Follow her!" He snapped at his henchman. Immediately the man jumped down the floor vent. Cain brushed himself off and grinded his teeth. There had to be an easier way to find that blasted EVO. A thought occurred to him as he went to find the security room.

0o0

White Knight was extremely annoyed. His whole base had shut down and he was trapped in his office. He had no idea what was going on outside. He hated not knowing. He was debating with himself if he wanted to break out and check to see what was going on. He had a feeling it had to do with Rex. White had mixed feeling about the boy. He hated to admit it but he was starting to like the annoying whelp. But he also knew he had a dangerous side. If he ever became that dangerous mech EVO they would all be dead.

Finally, White made a decision. He put on his containment suit. He blasted the doors of his office. He needed to get his base back and if Rex was responsible he needed to take care of that as well.

0o0

Six was panicking on the inside although from the exterior you could never tell. He looked exactly the same. He was immensely worried about Rex and Holiday. The thought of the two of them in danger made him fly his plane faster and more recklessly.

His cell rang. He wanted to ignore it but then realized it could be Holiday. He put the phone on speaker.

"Six here." His voice came out unconcerned.

"Six!" It was Noah. "We got the weapon!"

Good news to Six's ears." Good. Get it back to base."

"Heading there now." Noah confirmed.

"If you get there before me don't go in. There is a situation." Six warned.

There was a pause on the other end. "What do you mean?"

"Hunter Cain has gotten out and put the base on lockdown." Six told them bluntly.

"What?" This wasn't Noah but Skwydd. "You mean that maniac is on the loose and after Rex?"

"Affirmative." Six said.

"We need to get back there and help Rex!"

"Yes, that's exactly what we are doing now." Six tried to keep any of the emotion he was feeling out of his voice. "So get a move on."

"Noah!" Skwydd called.

"I heard. Hang on to your seat belts." Six heard Noah reply.

Despite the direness of the situation Six couldn't help but be proud of Rex's friends.

0o0

"You heard the man! " Tuck said. "We need to get there asap!"

"I'm driving as fast as I can. " Noah said. "Keep your eyes out for cops."

Just as he said that, sirens went off behind him. "Pull over!" Came the command.

"Aww, man." Skwydd groaned. "Just our luck."

"Wait." Tuck said. He squinted behind them at the car and gasped. "It's the police chief; He's with Cain."

"Are you sure?" Cricket turned around to look. "It is! He's after the knife."

"At any rate, we're not stopping." Noah said fiercely. He floored it. The police cruiser also sped up.

"Stop or we'll use force!" The voice commanded again.

"Like fun we are." Noah muttered under his breath as he cut across two lanes and back trying to lose the car.

Suddenly shots were fired. Everyone instinctively ducked.

"Crud! They're shooting at us." Tuck yelled.

"Great observation Sherlock."Skwydd said sarcastically.

Another shot came.

"That's it!" Skwydd said getting angry. He rolled down his window and shot his ink at the police cruiser. The ink covered the window and the car swerved. It hit the divider and flipped onto its back.

"Nice work!" Cricket complimented him.

"Whatever. They were seriously getting on my nerves." Skwydd tried to hide his blush.

"Let's keep going before anything else happens." Noah said grimly.


	7. Chapter 7

**poppy: Sorry about your tooth. You're right it's no fun. Hope you feel better soon. Thanks for the review.**

**Do not own any of the characters.**

Holiday struggled to get out of the vent. She heard someone above her and knew she had to get out quickly. It was a delicate dance of keeping her distance yet making sure she was followed at the same time. She finally was able to get out of the vent and into the room. She looked around. It was the smaller medbay. They only used it in emergencies if the main medbay was filled. Some days were worse than others. Banging from above her broke her from her thoughts. She quickly hid behind some medical equipment.

A man slid out and landed on his feet. Holiday saw only one man. Where was Hunter Cain? She hoped they didn't split up. If they did, she didn't want to think what trouble Cain could cause.

A hand grabbed her. "Found you!" The man snarled.

Holiday let her training kick in. She twisted out of the man's grasp and with the palm of her hand gave him an uppercut in the face. He flew back and Holiday ran. The man recovered and opened fire just as she dodged between the scanners. The bullets ricocheted off the machine and knocked the gun out of the man's hand. Holiday made a mad dash for the door but when she got there realized that it would not open. The man holding his injured hand stepped menacingly toward her. She had her back to the door.

"There's no way out now, girlie." The man growled.

"Well, just this." Holiday pulled out a syringe and plunged it into the man's chest. The liquid emptied into him.

The man looked shocked before his eyes rolled to the back of his head. He collapsed in a heap on the floor.

"And don't call me girlie!" Holiday growled.

0o0

Cain looked through the security camera. Finally he spotted the EVO girl who had humiliated him. He didn't see the boy but one EVO was as good as another. He grabbed his blaster and went to find her.

Meanwhile Circe hid Rex in the CT scanner. Now that she knew Six was on his way she just had to make sure Rex stayed safe until he got there.

The door behind her blew open. She turned around startled yet ready for an attack.

"Where is he?" It was White Knight.

"Who?" She asked genuinely confused.

"Rex!" The man snapped.

"He's safe for now. Cain is the one you should be worried about." She tried to explain to him.

"They both concern me but Cain is in his cell." White said.

"No, he's not! He's the one who put the base on lock down." Circe said desperately.

"And why should I believe you?" Knight asked skeptically.

Suddenly he was shot from the back.

"Because it's all true." Cain said menacingly holding his smoking blaster. "Say hello to my little friend." He addressed Circe as he fired another shot.

0o0

Six landed his jet outside of Providence just as Noah's car pulled up.

"You have the knife?" Six asked.

Tuck unwrapped some bandages from his chest and a plastic bag fell out. He tossed it to Six who caught it and promptly put it inside his jacket pocket. He nodded his thanks.

"Now what?" Noah asked.

"Now we go in." Six unsheathed his blades. He ran at the metal doors and sliced them like butter. The door fell down and the group walked in.

It was dark and silent.

"Where is everyone?" Cricket wondered looking around.

The security system suddenly activated. Lasers popped from the walls and began firing.

"They booby trapped the base." Six yelled as he deflected the shots. Cricket grabbed Noah and leapt high over the lasers to safety.

"Thanks." Noah said shakily.

"No prob." Cricket jumped back and kicked a few lasers out.

Skwydd blew ink on several more blocking their sensors thereby confusing them. Tuck elongated his hands and crushed them. They high fived each other. Six pulled out some shirkens and knocked out a few more. Before long they had taken out the lasers.

"Tread lightly. There may be more." Six warned.

"Ugh, I wish I had some sort of weapon." Noah complained feeling useless.

Six went to a wall and put his palm on a pad; a panel slid open. He pulled out a blaster and tossed it to Noah who caught it neatly.

"Do you know how to use that?" Six asked.

"Yeah, Rex and I went through basic training." Noah shuddered remembering the experience.

"Good." Six lead the way with his magna blades drawn.

They hadn't made it more than a few feet when more security lasers popped up. As they again tried to take them out, they heard Circe's sonic blast.

"Uh-oh. Circe's in trouble, which means…" Tuck began.

"Rex's in trouble." Six finished.

"Six, we'll take care of these lasers, go find Circe and Rex." Noah urged the green ninja.

Six nodded. Noah blasted the lasers to clear a path for him.

Six rolled and flipped past the stray lasers running down the hall. Noah briefly looked after him before he continued to help the trio take out the rest of the lasers.

Six ran down the hall. He was going so fast that he almost ploughed down Holiday as he rounded the corner.

"Six!" She exclaimed. In her excitement she hugged him before she realized what she was doing. Embarrassed she let go sheepishly. Six gave no indication he noticed the faux pas. Instead he pulled the knife from inside his jacket and handed it to her.

She looked at him in awe and he nodded.

"I'll get on this right away." She said turning to leave.

"Wait. Where's Rex and Circe?" Six grabbed her arm.

Holiday's eyes widened. She had forgotten in her excitement.

"They're in the abandoned labs in sector C." She said. Just then they heard more shots fired and sonic screams. "Hurry!" Holiday urged Six.

But Six needed no prompting. He was off like a shot.


	8. Chapter 8

**Do Not Own The Characters.**

Circe did a forward roll to avoid the first shot. She countered with her sonic blast. Cain sidestepped it and fired again. Circe jumped out of the way and fired her sonic blast. They were slowly destroying the lab. Where was Six?

The lab was slowly crumbling. She looked over to where Knight lay. He wasn't moving still. She was worried that he might be dead. She was also worried about Rex. He was hidden safely from view but she wasn't sure if he was okay.

A piece of the ceiling fell. Circe moved out of the way but Cain's blaster hit her arm. She went down pain shooting up her arm. Cain laughed triumphantly and walked over to the EVO girl holding the blaster.

"One less EVO." He grinned.

Circe closed her eyes. But instead of oblivion she heard metal against metal.

She opened her eyes and was shocked to see Rex with his smack hands. He had knocked the blaster from Cain's hands. But Rex looked different. Blue lines circumvented his body. His eyes glowed white-blue.

"Leave her alone!" His voice sounded different too. He swung his smack hands forcing Cain back. Cain was startled but quickly recovered. He thought Rex would be too injured to fight. Cain jumped and aimed a kick at Rex's head. Rex easily deflected his kick with his smack hands. Cain was thrown back. He flipped backwards and landed on one knee. Rex formed his punk busters and did a low sweep knocking Cain off his feet.

Circe crawled out of the way and watched the fight at a safe distance. The two combatants were not pulling any punches. Rex was fighting like a man possessed. Cain was a man bent on revenge at all costs. After being knocked around by Rex's smack hands Cain slid near where his blaster had landed. Cain tried to grab his blaster but Circe using her sonic scream blew it to bits. Cain glared at her and pulled out a smaller firearm aiming it at Circe. Rex roared with anger forming his BFS. He sliced the gun. Then using the flat side he batted Cain back. Cain hit the wall just as Six burst in through the door. Six looked at the unconscious Cain and then at Rex.

"Rex?" Six asked uncertainly.

Rex's body returned to normal. His BFS fell apart and he wavered on his feet. Before he could fall on the floor Circe grabbed him. Six was next to her in a second. Together they dragged him to a medical bed and put him down. Circe pointed at White Knight.

"I think he's hurt." She told him. Six went to check on his boss.

"He's fine. Just stunned." Six noted.

"Fine, my Great Aunt Fanny" White muttered as he came to.

"Can you restore the base?" Six inquired.

" Now that I know what happened." White nodded over to Cain. "I'll go check the main computers. How's Rex?"

"He'll be fine in a minute." Holiday answered as she walked in with a needle.

She briefly glanced over to Cain's body. "Shouldn't you secure him or something?"

"On it. "Six said as he cuffed the mercenary.

Holiday walked over to Rex. Circe stepped aside as she injected him with the needle in her hand.

At first nothing happened. Then Rex suddenly gasped. His hands shot up and his eyes flew open. He sat up quickly glowing blue all over. Just as quickly he dropped back down on the bed.

"What happened?" Circe asked alarmed.

"Rex's nanites are all coming back on line." Holiday stated. "They're going into over drive repairing his body."

Sure enough all the bruises on his face were fading rapidly. Noah and the three EVOs ran in.

"Is Rex...?" Noah couldn't finish.

Holiday smiled. "He's going to be fine now."

Everyone sighed in relief.

They didn't notice Circe slowly edge her way to the back and leave the room. She knew she couldn't stay. White Knight would most certainly arrest her. And now that Rex was fine she can leave with a clear conscience.

"Where are you going?" Startled she turned and formed her sonic mouth.

It was Six. He didn't look like he was threatening her.

She stood down. "I have to go before…" Six understood.

"Rex's going to miss you."

Her eyes softened. "It's impossible..."

"You don't need to stay with Van Kleiss." Six continued.

"I have no where else to go." She said sadly.

"You can come with us." Cricket said shyly coming into the hallway.

Circe looked at her in surprise. "Thanks, but I need to get back."

"It's an open invitation. Any friend of Rex is a friend of ours." Skwydd added walking in too.

Circe smiled. She walked away and gave a little wave without turning around. The others watched her as she disappeared down the hall.

"So what did I miss?" Bobo walked over rubbing his eyes and yawning.

Everyone glared at him.

"What?" Bobo asked.

0o0

"So what happened to me?" Rex asked.

Holiday sighed. She had explained it to him at least a half dozen times. "Fell made a knife capable of transferring reprogrammed nanites that when they touched active nanites start to deactivate them. It was hard for me to figure it out at first since the deactivated nanites looked the same as the reprogrammed ones. But once I had the knife and was able to analyze the reprogrammed nanites I was able to create and antidote of sorts. It was similar to the ones we were working on in space so it was easy for me to re-reprogram them to reactivate the deactivated ones. " Boy was that a mouthful to say.

"So isn't that a cure then?" Rex frowned.

"No, because this kind of deactivation would kill the EVO, like it almost killed you." Holiday looked kindly as Rex. "Rest now. You're nanite levels are just getting back to normal."

It has been a few days now. Tuck, Cricket, and Skwydd went back to Hong Kong. They had told Rex about their open invitation to Circe. Holiday knew that Rex hoped that someday Circe would take them up on the offer. The base was cleaned up finally. Cain was put in a maximum security prison. All his men had been rounded up including the police chief. Fell was still on the loose but it was just a matter of time. White Knight had not said anything about Circe. Holiday had a distinct feeling that White was ignoring the fact that she was ever there. Maybe White Knight did have a heart after all.

Holiday walked out of Rex's room.

"How is he?"

Holiday jumped. She put her hand to her heart. "Six, stop doing that."

"Sorry." He acquiesced "So how is he?"

"He's getting stronger everyday. He should be back on his feet by the end of the week."

"You found the cure just in time."

" Thanks to the knife you gave me."

"That was Rex's friends." Six noted.

"Either way, it was a team effort." She smiled.

They walked down the hall together. They stopped at the end. Six cleared his throat. Holiday turned to look at him quizzically.

"Would you like to get some coffee?" He asked as emotionlessly as possible.

He watched Holiday's face break into a radiant smile. "I'd love to." The corners of his mouth slightly twitched as they walked to the cafeteria together.

******Thank you to poppy and fanaticagenrex for your reviews. Thank you everyone who read. Thank you Asha Carcella for letting me finish this story. ****Hope you enjoyed it.**

** God bless.**


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